Before the bottom of the fourth inning of Wednesday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Teddy came from behind to defeat Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson for his first victory since the race began July 2006, more than 500 races ago. The crowd at Nationals Park went bananas.

The race, and Teddy’s bumbling antics, had become a running gag in Washington, D.C., and throughout baseball. As the Journal’s Neil King Jr. wrote last week, Teddy had suffered indignities of all kinds in losing—and losing, and losing some more. He had been tripped, tricked by a leprechaun and distracted by an apple pie. One hot day, he got sidetracked by a popsicle. On another his presidential rivals schemed to throw him into a wall.

The Nationals steadfastly denied that the race was rigged, yet in recent weeks, as the Nationals chased and ultimately clinched a playoff berth, conspiracy theories abounded: Fans of Teddy, including various red-state politicians, expressed outrage. “Teddy would have physically dominated any of those guys,” Kermit Roosevelt III, a great-great grandson of the former president, told the Journal.

So Wednesday—the final day of the regular season—was an absolute triumph. Wearing a red headband and flashy gold sneakers, Teddy lined up alongside his fellow competitors in center field and made history. After a slow start, he passed, in quick succession, Abe, Tom and finally George. It didn’t hurt that a fraudulent Philadelphia Phillies mascot ran onto the field to tackle all three before he passed them.

No matter, the crowd roared and the players themselves seemed inspired. Ryan Zimmerman, the first Nationals hitter to step to the plate following the race, belted a game-tying home run. Teammates Michael Morse and Tyler Moore quickly followed with doubles.

Meantime, Teddy himself took to Twitter (@Teddy26Nats) to make a bold prediction: “I’m just getting warmed up! Time to get ready for the postseason! You ain’t seen nothing yet! The Rough Rider has arrived!”

Here’s a collection of more of the Twitter explosion of love for this upset:

SPORTS, THE JOURNAL WAY

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